The present invention involves woven carpet backings and a method of manufacturing and using such backings.
Conventional carpets are generally constructed by inserting a piling yarn through a primary backing fabric (also referred to herein as xe2x80x9cprimary carpet backingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cprimary backingxe2x80x9d) to form tufts of yarn which project from the surface of the fabric. The piling yarn may be inserted through the use of a tufting needle, which penetrates the primary carpet backing. The primary backing is then coated with an adhesive to secure the yarn to the primary backing, and to allow a secondary carpet backing (or xe2x80x9csecondary backingxe2x80x9d) to be affixed to the primary backing. A primary backing may be made of a woven fabric, or may be made of a non-woven fabric.
One type of conventional primary carpet backing may comprise a woven fabric, made of warp yarns and fill yarns using a traditional weave, such as a plain weave. The term xe2x80x9cfill yarnxe2x80x9d may also be known as a xe2x80x9cweft yarnxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cwoof yarn.xe2x80x9d Woven carpet backings are easier to process through tufting than non-woven carpet backings, and have the ability to xe2x80x9chealxe2x80x9d from tufting penetrations. The term xe2x80x9chealxe2x80x9d refers to the hole caused by a tufting needle closing once the needle is removed from the backing.
Another conventional primary carpet backing comprises a non-woven fabric. A nonwoven fabric is usually defined as an assembly of textile fibers joined by mechanical interlocking in a random web or mat. Fibers may also be joined by fusing (in the case of thermoplastic fibers) or by bonding with a cementing medium, such as starch, glue, casein, rubber, latex, a cellulose derivative, or a synthetic resin. Non-woven fabrics generally have greater dimensional stability than woven fabrics.
Conventional carpet may suffer from a drawback, e.g., requiring both a primary carpet backing and a secondary carpet backing. This construction requires two backings to manufacture the carpet, thereby increasing materials, costs, and time for constructing a carpet.
An object of the invention is to overcome this and other drawbacks in existing carpets.
Another object of the invention is to provide a woven carpet backing (xe2x80x9ccarpet backingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbackingxe2x80x9d) comprising monofilament warp yarns and alternating monofilament and multifilament fill yarns.
Another object of the invention is to provide a woven carpet backing with the look of a primary carpet backing on one side of the woven carpet backing and the look of a secondary carpet backing on the other side of the woven carpet backing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a carpet with similar dimensional stability to conventional carpeting without requiring the use of a secondary carpet backing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a woven carpet backing where substantially all of the multifilament fill yarns are placed on one side of the woven carpet backing and substantially all of the monofilament fill yarns are placed on the other side of the carpet backing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a woven carpet backing where the fill yarn coverage factor is large enough to cause adjacent fill yarns to physically contact at least a portion of each other.
Another object of the invention is to provide a carpet using the woven carpet backing of the present invention.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished according to various embodiments of the invention. One embodiment of the invention provides a woven carpet backing. The woven carpet backing comprises monofilament warp yarns and alternating multifilament and monofilament fill yarns. The woven carpet backing is woven using a weave, preferably a non-traditional weave, that places substantially all of the multifilament fill yarns on one side of the carpet backing and substantially all of the monofilament fill yarns on the other side of the carpet backing. In one embodiment, substantially all of the multifilament fill yarns are placed on the face of the carpet backing and substantially all of the monofilament fill yarns are placed on the back of the carpet backing. The carpet backing may be overstuffed such that the monofilament fill yarn coverage factor, and/or the fill yarn coverage factor are greater than one hundred percent.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a method of using a floor covering comprising tufted pile yarns inserted into a woven carpet backing. The method comprises forming a woven carpet backing comprising monofilament warp yarns and alternating monofilament and multifilament fill yarns. The woven carpet backing includes substantially all of the monofilament fill yarns on one side of the woven carpet backing and substantially all of the multifilament fill yarns on the other side of the woven carpet backing. Subsequently, carpet yarns are tufted through the carpet backing to form the floor covering, which is placed on an area of the floor. Preferably, an adhesive agent, such as a conventional latex mixture or cementing medium, such as starch, glue, casein, rubber, latex, a cellulose derivative, or a synthetic resin, or any adhesive conventionally used in floor coverings is then applied to the face of the carpet backing. The adhesive agent is believed to improve carpet stability and improve tuft bind, ie., locks in carpet yarns. The woven carpet backing may be overstuffed such that the monofilament fill yarn coverage factor, and/or the fill yarn coverage factor are greater than one hundred percent.
Thus, the floor covering comprises a single carpet backing having carpet yarns tufted into it. This eliminates the need for a primary carpet backing and a secondary carpet backing considered necessary in conventional carpets.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a process for making a woven carpet backing comprising weaving a woven carpet backing comprising monofilament warp yarns and monofilament and multifilament fill yarns. The woven carpet backing includes substantially all of the monofilament fill yarns on one side of the woven carpet backing and substantially all of the multifilament fill yarns on the other side of the woven carpet backing. The woven carpet backing may be overstuffed such that the monofilament fill yarn coverage factor, and/or the fill yarn coverage factor are greater than one hundred percent.
Yet another embodiment of the invention is directed to a floor covering, such as a carpet, which includes:
(i) a woven carpet backing including warp and fill yarns, wherein the warp yarns comprise monofilament yarns and the fill yarns comprise alternating monofilament and multifilament yarns;
(ii) carpet fibers tufted into the woven carpet backing so that a top portion of the fibers protrudes from a back of the woven carpet backing and, preferably
(iii) a layer of an adhesive agent on a face of the woven carpet backing.
The woven carpet backing of the floor covering may be woven such that substantially all of the monofilament fill yarns are placed on one side of the woven carpet backing and substantially all of the multifilaments fill yarns are placed on the other side of the woven carpet backing. The woven carpet backing may be overstuffed such that the monofilament fill yarn coverage factor, and/or the fill yarn coverage factor are greater than one hundred percent.
Still another embodiment of the invention provides a woven carpet backing comprising a warp and a fill including two yarn types. Either the warp or the fill includes the two yarn types in an alternating fashion. The other of the warp and the fill uses only one of the two yarn types. The woven carpet backing is woven so that substantially all of one of the two alternating yarn types are located on the face of the woven carpet backing, and substantially all of the other of the two alternating yarn types are located on the back of the woven carpet backing. The woven carpet backing may be used in connection with a carpet, where carpet yarns are tufted through the woven carpet backing, and an adhesive agent is applied to the front of the woven carpet backing to secure the carpet yarns. A carpet comprising the woven carpet backing of this embodiment may further be used as a floor covering.
These and other objects of the present invention shall become apparent from the accompanying drawings and detailed description of the invention which follows.